Regrets and Second Chances
by JerkassTsunanon
Summary: A blessing from MissingNO. is still a curse. Self-indulgence fic at its finest, moderately based within the False Red universe with traces of headcanon.
1. Chapter 1

There weren't many things in his life that Red regretted.

For example, he didn't regret that he'd nearly destroyed his relationship with his best friend all over a petty rivalry. He didn't regret battling Green that day on the S.S. Anne, or that day in Lavender Tower. He didn't regret defeating Green that day at the Indigo Plateau. He didn't regret that he'd never fulfilled the Professor's wishes and completed the Pokedex. He didn't regret that he'd stopped caring about much of anything. He didn't regret focusing on strength, constantly testing himself and his team against stronger and stronger Pokemon. He didn't regret wanting to be the best.

He did regret becoming the best.

At one time, Red had sought out other trainers. However, they began to pose less and less of a threat. The adrenaline that battle had once supplied him with decreased alongside his chances of losing. With time, Red began to avoid the other trainers. No one was ever good enough to compete.

And so Red turned his attention to the so-called legendary Pokemon. The Winged Mirages appeared to him first, but in the end they posed no threat. Even Mewtwo, the genetically enhanced replica of Mew, origin of all Pokemon, could not reignite Red's interest in battle. Red continued to search, however, desperate to find some challenge.

He did regret ever meeting that Pokemon.

Red wasn't even sure it _was_ a Pokemon. He remembered that time and space themselves seemed to warp around the entity, but no matter how he tried, he could not recall its appearance. It had shrieked, like some large bird, and the sound had brought him to his knees. Though his memory of the event felt distant and foggy, he could remember that the pain had been unbearable. Even after the monster's shrieking had ended, it had taken him minutes before he could silence his own screaming.

"I will grant your desire."

Red hadn't been able to answer. His voice may as well have been stolen from him.

"You will get a second chance."

When he'd come to, it was at the summit of a mountain. He could see Kanto far below, though no matter how hard he thought about it, he could not recall there having ever been a snow-topped peak to the west of the Indigo Plateau.


	2. Chapter 2

"Who are you? You aren't Red."

Of course he wasn't Red! He'd been saying this for what felt like forever, but no one ever listened. It was as if there was some extravagant sign above his head proclaiming "I am Red!" To be honest, he wasn't even sure who Red was.

Over time, however, he began to piece together just who "Red" was. He was the person Fire was supposed to be. He was Green's rival. He was a great trainer. He may or may not have looked exactly like Fire (depending on who he spoke with, the information differed).

Fire was the fake. This wasn't his story. He walked in the footsteps of this "Red", doing everything the same. All he was doing was following. This was Red's story, and yet it was the repetition of something that had happened once before.

"You appear to be very gifted as a Pokemon trainer. Not as gifted as he was, though."

Fire was supposed to be Red, but somewhere things had been messed up. Though he did everything the same, there were flaws. He didn't look the same, he didn't react the same, he wasn't as good. He was an imperfect copy.

"You're no one."  
>"This isn't right."<br>"Please don't come back."

He wasn't going to come back.

This "Red" guy still existed, right? All Fire had to do was find that asshole and send him back. Tell him about all the people, all the signs, everything that begged and pleaded "Come home".

Or he could just punch the guy for ruining his life, "his story", before it even began.


	3. Chapter 3

He wasn't sure what "second chance" he'd been given.

He may have still been the best. He wasn't sure. It didn't seem to matter as much when he wasn't constantly being pursued, by rookies and veterans alike, all searching for a chance to steal that title. If he were still the best, the mountain kept away the challengers. If anyone did show up, Red could at least know that it was only the best of the best.

Time passed, but no one showed up. It was almost as if he'd been forgotten by the world. He stood alone at the top of the mountain. Surviving in the inhospitable terrain was enough of a battle to keep him busy. When there was a lull, he would train his Pokemon. Though it wasn't the most exciting of lifestyles, he was content with it.

"Hey!"

Though the voice carried over the howling wind, Red found himself wondering why the person bothered to speak. Even breathing sometimes threatened to freeze his lungs. His Pokemon understood wordless gestures, and besides them, there was no one on the mountain to speak with.

Wait, that was wrong. There was him, wasn't there? He couldn't say that he was interested in talking, however.

As a figure came into view, Red's hand shifted to the Pokeballs attached to his belt.

"Are you Red?"

It was almost like looking into a mirror. The details were different: different hair, different eyes, different clothes. Those things didn't matter. It was the same spirit, the same energy that confronted him from across the frozen plain.

"Hey!" Frustration was seeping into the voice's tone. "Aren't you going to answer?"

When Red opened his mouth to answer, he realized something: he'd lost his voice long ago. Well, in that case, it didn't really matter, did it? His Pikachu was hardly out of its Pokeball before it was already charging up a Thunderbolt.

"Son of a bitch!"

Red couldn't help smiling as the male scrambled to grab one of his own Pokeballs, stepping back before the lightning singed the snow where he once stood.

Perhaps the only person who could honestly challenge him was himself?


	4. Chapter 4

"I really fucking hate you!"

But he was laughing, and it _hurt_. Though the battle had melted away some of the snow surrounding them, the air in its wake only seemed colder, pins and needles with each shaky laugh. The other male stared back at him, silent, before making some vague gesture with his hands.

"I don't know sign language!"

The male continued to stare, only to abruptly remove his Pokedex from his pocket. Fingers tapped at the display while he approached, and Fire blinked at the Pokedex that was shoved before him. Within the search display was typed NEITHER DO I.

When Fire began to laugh again, the male only looked frustrated. As Fire's anger dissipated, the other male seemed to grow more and more annoyed with things. The display left his view, returning with a new message.

WHO ARE YOU

"Are you Red?"

There was no reason to shout any more, now that they weren't standing so far apart, and yet Fire couldn't help himself. Someone had to fill the silence.

The name engraved on the back of the Pokedex's red casing answered that question. Yet when Fire opened his mouth to speak again, the device was turned over and a finger tapped impatiently above the still-displayed question.

"The better you, of course!"

His throat was going to hurt by the next day, he was sure.

YOU CHEATED

He didn't think he would regret it.

"What? You just don't know how to battle!"

It was worth a second chance at being himself.


End file.
